The public sector union federations FP-CGIL, CISL-FP, UIL-FPA and UIL-PA organized a joint strike action on 19 December in protest at the latest austerity measures. The federations were very pleased at the level of support, taking account of the fact that they had only one week to organize the action. They are calling for negotiations with the unions over national and decentralized bargaining as well as over issues such as the threat to privatize local services.